Unique Low

Impact Expeditions Since 1999

A
Great Number of Great Hornbills

I'm constantly amazed at the abundance of hornbills at Khao
Sok National Park in southern Thailand. I just got back from
another trip there and the hornbill sightings were better
than ever.

One late afternoon as we paddled slowly back toward the
floating bungalows where we spend the evenings, we saw seven
Bushy-crested hornbills fly into a nearby tree. One of the
nice things about most species of hornbill here is that they
make a lot of noise just before taking flight. Bush-crested
hornbills are about the most gregarious species here. It's
rare to see a solitary bird. On this afternoon, in the
glassy calm stillness of the setting sun, this gang made
their position known brashly. We turned away from our gazing
at monkeys to see where they were. They ended up flying very
close to us. What a treat, but that was nothing compared to
what happened next.

Great Hornbills, easily discernable by their bulky yellow
bill and a yellow slash in the middle of their wings, also
tend to travel in small groups in this area. On this
evening, we witnessed fifteen hornbills in flight at the
same time! It looked like something out of a Jurassic Park
movie. The air was full of their 'whooshing' wing beats and
their singular 'gok' calls or their repeated 'ger-ok,
ger-ok, ger-ok' bark.

We had seen many Great Hornbills on this trip. Of course,
neither of us had a camera this time. I figured it out… if
you really want to see birds close-up, forget to bring your
camera. We were close enough on a couple occasions to tell
the male from the female. The male has red eyes and the
female white.

One
couple of Great Hornbills sat high in a palm tree eating the
berries. We sat there for a long time just watching them
eat. They would pick a berry with the end of their bills,
then throw their head back to get it into their throats.
Occasionally, a berry would fall out and bounce through the
brush to the ground… a snack missed.

The weather was so perfect that we opted to paddle all the
way back to the dam on our last day. It was a 15 nautical
mile journey that we allowed several hours to make. We were
blessed with a stiff tailwind. About half way, on a small
island covered with bamboo and a few nice emergent trees, we
spotted some more hornbills. I quickly grabbed my binoculars
which I keep in a dry bag under some bungy cords on my
foredeck. "Oh wow!", I screamed. The island had a bunch of
Southern Pied hornbills. I'd never sent them here before.
I've only seen them in saltwater environments on some of the
more remote islands in Phang Nga Bay and further south. This
was a treat. One particular bird didn't seem to mind us
being there at all. He was pecking at some bamboo in plain
view.

Many people have commented on how well I spot wildlife. I
always tell them that it's not difficult; it's a matter of
practice and knowing how to look and what to look for. For
example, to find Dusky langurs, big black monkeys with long
white tails, you need to look for something about a meter
long, white, and vertical. There aren't many things in the
jungle here that fit that description besides langur tails.
Whenever I get a bit bigheaded about my abilities, a Thai
will show me up. On this trip, I had passed right under a
sleeping Reticulate python coiled up in a tree. Our Thai
guide asked me later if I had seen it. I couldn't believe I
missed it. I went back and there it was plain as day. My
head shrunk back to normal… or maybe a bit smaller.

The final hornbill of the trip was in the limestone cliff
area of the reservoir. This particular hornbill sighting was
the result of me seeing something yellow in a tree that was
otherwise completely green. Shortly after I spotted it, it
took to flight. This Great Hornbill was traveling solo for
some reason.

Click an image to view a larger image.

Phang
Nga Bay - Having the Place to Ourselves

It's truly marvelous how we can visit a bay that is often
swarming with massive numbers of tourists and not encounter
them. We have structured our trips that way. It's not that
we dislike tourist groups; it's easier to relax and enjoy
this special area when it is silent. This might not go on
forever, but for now, we can enjoy in solitude the beauty of
one of the most beautiful bays in the world.

We visited Phang Nga Bay several times last month. On the
first trip we saw a huge monitor lizard being attacked by a
troop of Crab-eating Macaque monkeys. This lizard was
certainly large enough to eat a monkey. The monkeys probably
thought so too, so they wanted it off of their beach. At the
same time, the sky was full of Black Kites,
medium-sized raptors. Two pairs of Pacific Reef
Egrets stood on a nearby rock. In other words, we
were surrounded by life.phang nga bay

As we paddled to where the monkeys were, we could see the
branches of a huge ficus (fig) tree moving. There they were.
When we paddled closer, they moved out of sight.

Our guests in the bay this month included Jean Kim and her
friend Andy. They loved the bay right away. Their normal
daily life is high speed, high stress, and always on the go.
They earned this! Jean came on the first trip of the month,
then returned a week later with Andy, who had just arrived
in Phuket.

Kimberly, a Canadian school teacher living and working in
Hong Kong also joined us in the bay. She was very eager to
get into a kayak. She'd done a good bit of paddling in
Canada, but a kayak was new to her. All three of them picked
up good technique quickly. They were all intelligent folks
who knew how to listen. It was a real pleasure for us to
only have to tell and show them a couple times before they
'got it'. Strokes like a sculling draw stroke, a figure
eight stroke used to move a kayak sideways, wasn't a
challenge to any of them. This is normally a stroke people
get after some time. Not these guys; they understood the
mechanics behind the stroke right away.

I like to teach kayaking technique by relating it to basic
laws of physics. The law of "for every action there is an
equal and opposite reaction" helps me to explain many
strokes. After all, moving a boat through water requires
force. That equates in kayaking to moving the paddle one way
to make the kayak go another way.

Charlie,
our good friend and my long-time paddling student, also
joined this trip. He's always fun to have along. He lives in
Manhattan, USA and comes to Thailand for as long as he can
every year.

On a typical trip to Phang Nga Bay, we depart by escort
boat from a pier used by few tourists. When we say we try to
stay away from other tourists, we mean at all times. Anyway,
Big Tree Bay is usually one of the first places we visit.
It's a nice place to visit at any water level. When the
water is high, we can beach the boats and swim or just sit
in the water.

There are interesting plants to be seen here, including
several species of orchid. We usually lose Roy when there
are orchids are around. He's in the process of building a
website dedicated to appreciating the wild orchids of
Thailand. He has a new digital camera and is off to a good
start with his wild orchid photo gallery. It'll be something
special when he's finished.

From Big Tree Bay (our name, not the map's), we make a
short crossing to two nearby islands. One features a
splendid cove that has a lovely beach. We stop there when we
have enough water. These islands always have Brahminy
Kites and White-bellied Sea Eagles
soaring overhead. Brown-winged Kingfishers
are common too. They're a bit territorial, so we generally
see them in the same area. It's a bit strange; they're
bright orange, yet they're not all that easy to see. They
can sit on a branch without moving at all. Once we advance a
bit too close, they bolt out of the tree. In flight their
striking color is obvious.

There's a small lagoon on the back side of the larger
island that we can paddle into when the water is high
enough. It has a few mangrove trees (mostly rhizophoraceae
family). On one dead tree, and a living one next to it, are
small clusters of orchids, probably Dendrobium
Nathanielis. These are the only orchids we have
seen growing on mangrove trees.

Each night we return to the bungalows on our long beach. We
never tire of looking east to the stunning view of several
steep islands. The place has good quality island bungalows.
They have fans, showers, and proper beds. We don't mind the
lack of hot water or round the clock electric service. It's
the restaurant and the staff that we truly appreciate. Khun
Suthep manages the place. He's a great guy with a strong
desire to make sure everyone is happy. He is good at his
job.

On an average night, we'll eat a mildly spicy cashew salad
for starters. Main courses usually include a curry,
something fried in garlic and pepper, a veggie dish, and
either a big fried fish or some shrimp. Andy, Jean, and
Kimberly certainly appreciated the scrumptious cultural
treat.

The
next day we headed up to a couple of larger islands. We
spent the day paddling easily, appreciating the silence and
solitude. We stopped now and then on small beaches. There's
still a lot of wildlife on these islands. Our guests had the
same feeling as us, that all of this belonged to us, ours to
absorb and enjoy. This can only come when we don't have to
share it with noisy tour groups. Just us, the birds,
monkeys, lizards, orchids, and the occasional entirely
tolerable fishing boat.

On the last day of the first trip in July we paddled into a
big lagoon that is accessed by passing under an overhanging
rock, almost a cave but not quite. On that day, we saw a
small fishing boat just inside the lagoon. At first, I
thought, "hmm, this might not be too good." A longtail motor
makes a lot of noise in a small area with rock walls all
around. I was wrong. He didn't even have a motor. He was
rowing! He still made a lot of 'noise' though. This man had
a beautiful voice. He was singing a traditional Thai song,
and the sound filled the rocky lagoon with a haunting
sweetness.

It was entirely different from watching some singer on TV
or in a club. He certainly had our attention for as long as
he sang. We drifted slowly in this timeless place, enriched
by the man we had thought would disturb "our" silence!

On the second trip in the bay with Andy, Kimberly and
Charlie joining us, Roy and I wondered if our singing
boatman would be in the lagoon again. He wasn't. We still
enjoyed the ordinary eternal solitude of the place. Our
bringer of sweetness was just coming to the lagoon when we
paddled out. We slowed our paddling so the others could
appreciate his gift. Here is a person who has more talent
than most entertainers, and who seems content to entertain
himself as he moves slowly along, laying his fish traps.

July is supposed to be dead low season. It wasn't for us.
We had a great month… meaning we spent more time on the
water than on the computer! The weather was very agreeable
most of the time too. We always tell people that low season
is a good time to be here. The hotels and bungalows are
cheaper and there are a lot less people around. That's
always a bonus when you're a nature lover. So come on over.
It might rain a bit, but there's still plenty to see and do
when you've got a kayak.

Roy adds: In and among the profusion of outdoor gear in
American outfitter shops are some jewels that fit our needs
very well. When it rains, the air is cooler than the water.
That means it is good to have a shirt that wicks away the
dampness from the body. While in the US in May, I found The
Answer. I picked up Polartec shirts by Bomber Gear and could
not be happier with the result. Bring on the rain!